Heat
by NCISBONESgirl
Summary: In which HankMed gets a call to treat a Kate Beckett, while on vacation with Richard Castle. I suck at summaries, but it's worth a read even if you only watch one of the shows. Oneshot. Give it a chance.


Hank came down the stairs to find his brother standing at the stove, humming and dancing as he cooked.

His eyebrows rose and he smirked. "Well good morning, maestro."

Evan glanced behind him. "Hey, want some breakfast?"

"Depends," Hank craned his neck to see what was on the stove. "What are you making?"

"Omelets," Evan told him with a small smirk. "The good kind with plenty of cholesterol filled egg yolks, cheese, scallions, bacon…not doctor-y, good-for-you-but-taste-like-cardboard egg whites and spinach or whatever you put in those things."

Hank laughed. "I'll take one."

Evan folded the omelet he was working on and put it on a plate, and then handed it to Hank. "Enjoy, soak up the unhealthy."

"That may be the worst sales tactic I've ever heard in my life," Hank said, pouring himself a cup of coffee and then taking a seat.

Evan laughed, and then went back to cracking eggs.

Hank brought a forkful of omelet to his mouth, and then was cut short by his phone ringing.

Evan looked over, "Oh, dude," he said laughing.

Hank sighed and hit the "talk" button. "Yeah, this is Hank," he paused and listened for a moment, concern taking over his face. "Okay, okay, I'll be right there, just text your address to this number," he nodded, listening to the other person for a moment. "Okay, just stay calm, and don't move her." He hung up his phone and stood up, casting a longing look at his breakfast. "Ev, you coming on this one?"

"Yeah," Evan said, moving the pan to a cool burner and turning off the hot one.

"How is this still happening after two years?" Hank muttered to himself, grabbing his car keys.

"You've gotta stop eating eggs for breakfast, Henry," Evan chuckled.

"Yeah, I really do."

Hank pulled his Saab into the driveway of a large home in Amagansett and got out of the car, running up to the door. He knocked on it and waited for a moment. When no one answered, he pounded harder and yelled, "Hello? It's Dr. Lawson."

"We're on the beach!" a voice called faintly from behind the house.

"Alright, let's go," Hank told Evan, and then went running around the side of the house. He spotted two people on the stretch of private beach – a woman lying on the ground in a swimsuit and a man bent over her in trunks, stroking the side of her head. He sprinted the rest of the way down to them. "Hi, I'm Dr. Lawson."

"Hi," the man nodded once and stood so that Hank could attend to the woman.

"What's her name?" Hank asked, rushing to the side of the woman. She was pretty. Long curled brown hair, tall, thin, and a hint of a suntan.

"Kate," the man said. "Kate Beckett. I'm Richard Castle. She just…fell. I didn't know what to do, so I called you."

"You did the right thing," Hank said. "He put his fingers to Kate's neck and paused for a second. "She's not sweating. I've got a pulse but it's weak and rapid, she seems to be breathing on her own..." he put his hand on her forehead for a moment, and then ran a thermometer across her forehead. "105. Ah, Mr. Castle, do you have any ice cold water bottles? I need ten of them, three ties, a knife and a portable fan."

"Yeah, yeah in the house, hold on," Castle said, and then sprinted into the house. "Alright, Evan, help me move her into the shade under the house," Hank positioned himself by her head, placing his hands underneath her shoulders.

Evan mumbled something that sounded like; "All the way up there?" but grabbed her ankles nonetheless.

"Okay, count of three and we'll move her under the balcony alright? One, two, three." The stood in unison and quickly moved Kate to a padded lawn chair, laying it out flat.

Castle appeared behind them, arms full of bottles. "I got fourteen," he panted. "You know, just in case."

"Great," Hank grabbed two and placed one in each armpit. He took two and used the one of the ties to affix them to her neck, and then soaked the other two ties, laying them across her lap. He placed two more underneath her lower back. He grabbed another bottle and unscrewed the top, "Hope you don't mind your lawn furniture getting wet," he muttered before beginning to pour the water on her head, soaking her hair.

"For Kate, anything," Castle said, his eyes never leaving her.

Hank grabbed the knife and another water bottle, and used the tip to make small punctures in the cap. He squeezed the bottle, and sprayed water over Kate, soaking the rest of her as well. He punctured another bottle cap, and repeated the process, then set up the fan by her feet.

After a few moments of held breath, Kate's green eyes fluttered open. She squirmed in the chair and tried to sit up, but Hank gently pushed her back down.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Lawson," he introduced himself. "You lost consciousness, but you're okay now."

"What happened?" Kate asked, touching a hand to her sopping wet head. "And why am I wet?" she glanced at herself. "And covered in water bottles?"

"You were suffering from heat stroke," Hank explained with a gentle smile. "By placing water bottles at key spots in your body like the jugular veins, the lower back, and your armpits, along with cooling down the top of your head, we were able to start bringing your body temperature down by cooling your blood. The fan and the water on your body is acting as an evaporation system, working to bring your body temperature back into a safe range."

"Heat stroke?" Castle repeated, shaking his head and coming up to the chair to take her hand. "Why didn't you just say you were hot?"

Kate waved her free hand, "It's a hot day in July, the high today is 104. Besides, we hadn't eaten breakfast yet so I figured that's why I felt a little woozy," she bit her lip. "It's kind of a good book title though, right? Heat Stroke?"

Castle chuckled, his face holding an odd mix of concern, love, and humor. "Well, speak up next time will you? I would have taken you inside and fixed you something in a heartbeat. I can only write that book if you're alive, you know."

"It was just so nice on the beach with you," Kate ran her thumb over his hand. "We don't get away very often."

"I don't mean to interrupt, but for your sake, please do say something next time," Hank said with a small smile. He grabbed one of the extra water bottles and unscrewed it, handing it to her. "Here, drink this, and take it easy for the rest of the day, alright?"

"Oh, we can do that, doc," Castle said, helping Kate sit up slightly and then repositioning the back of the chair as well. "We won't even leave the house again. I'll cook breakfast and lunch here, and then go get something for dinner and bring it back here."

Kate cast him a withering look. "Come on, Castle, don't you think that's overkill?"

"All things considered, no," Castle said seriously, shaking his head. "You scared me."

"And you called a concierge doctor?"

"Medicine of the future," Evan piped up from behind them.

"Well, yeah!" Castle said defensively, ignoring Evan. "I didn't know if it was something related to…well, you know."

Kate rolled her eyes. "You're being ridiculous."

"Ah, related to what?" Hank asked.

Kate sighed and repositioned the bottles on her neck. "I was shot last summer," she informed him, her eyes turning into steel.

"O-oh," was all Hank could get out.

"Line of duty," Kate clarified, almost smirking at Hank's shocked expression. "I'm a detective for the NYPD."

"I wasn't going to ask," Hank said kindly. "And actually, he has every right to be paranoid. Depending on where you were shot, there could be scar tissue, systems could be damaged…"

Kate cut him a look.

Hank laughed. "Point taken. Look what I'm getting at is it's better safe than sorry."

"That's what I tell her all the time!" Castle said emphatically. "Especially for cardiac patients."

Hank raised his eyebrows.

"Just to the right of my heart," Kate told Hank flatly. "That's where I was shot." She looked down, and took another drink.

"They had to perform surgery," Castle told Hank. "She went into cardiac arrest."

Hank nodded. "Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with him. You shouldn't leave the air conditioning again today, and avoid any strenuous activity. This heat plus a weakened heart muscle is a recipe for, well," he gestured at the water bottles.

Kate saluted sarcastically.

Hank laughed and took her temperature again. "Alright, good, we're already down to 99, and your flush is beginning to go away, that's a good sign. I'll want to schedule a follow up as soon as possible to take some blood, urine, and x-rays, and perform a muscle function test. That'll help me make sure that your central nervous system, and internal organs are all working as they should and check for damage, and will rule out rhabdomyolysis, which can cause serious damage to your muscle tissue. And of course, call me if there's any problems…even if you're just feeling 'a little woozy'," he quoted back at her.

"You'll be my first call," Castle said shaking Hank's hand. "Thank you so much Dr. Lawson."

"Hank," he told him. "And it's no problem. I trust she's in good hands."

"Absolutely," Castle said, looking down at Kate and putting a hand on her head.

"Okay, so, now that the medical emergency is all dealt with, I have to ask, you're Richard Castle?" Evan asked.

Castle nodded.

"Like _the_ Richard Castle? The millionaire, wildly successful mystery writer who wrote the Nikki Heat and Derrek Storm books Richard Castle?"

Castle chuckled. "Yeah, that'd be me, guilty," he said, amused.

"Oh, dude," Evan almost whispered. "I don't think we've properly met, I'm Evan R. Lawson, CFO of HankMed. Have you ever thought about signing a retainer with a concierge medical practice? Think about it, you could have a doctor on-call, 24/7. Just in case, you know, anything else happened with your girlfriend's heart. Or anything else, really. We cover a wide variety of services."

"Ev?" Hank interrupted, calling his younger brother's attention to him. "Not the time."

"Right, yeah, no, I'm just putting it out there," Evan handed Castle a card. "Just think about it."

"Down boy," Hank said dryly. "So, when should we schedule a follow-up?"

"Um," Castle glanced at Kate. "Tomorrow morning maybe? 10-ish?"

Kate nodded.

"Sounds good," Hank said. "I'll see you both then."

"Great, thanks so much Hank," Castle said again. "Really, thank you."

"He worries," Kate informed Hank.

Hank chuckled. "I can see that. Give me a call any time. Come on, Evan."

"Think about that proposal!" Evan called out as they made their way back to the car.

"What's with the hard sell?" Hank asked as they pulled out of their driveway.

"Come on, paranoid millionaire with a girlfriend who he's head over heels for that has a weak heart muscle? Practically begging to be signed."

"Or treated," Hank said.

"Either one."


End file.
